How to Attract More Earthworms to Your Garden

Having a healthy number of earthworms in your garden is one of the best things you can do for your soil and the plants that you are growing. Regardless of what you are growing, attracting more earthworms to your garden provides them with permeable soil which is also nutrient rich. While many gardeners go out of their way to purchase or raise earthworms to transplant into their gardens, it is possible to attract more worms by simply changing the way you garden.

Increased draining, less compacted soil, nutrient rich castings and a reduction of harmful bacteria in the soil are all great reasons for doing the following.

Provide Moisture
Earthworms love moist, rich soil just as much as they love making it. In order to keep your soil ready for earthworms, add organic mulch over your garden bed and keep it moist. Organic mulch is best because it won't harm the worms and they are able to feed on most types of mulch once it begins to degrade.

Avoid Pesticides
Pesticides that are meant for one type of insect can also deter or harm other insects. What most new gardeners do not realize is that most commercial pesticides work to not only get rid of harmful pests, but also those insects that you want and need in your garden. Earthworms live in and eat the very soil that has been soaked with harmful pesticides, so if they are present in your garden earthworms will flee or die. Instead use organic measures to rid your garden of insects and weeds, and the earthworms will come.

Adopt No Till Gardening
Contrary to popular belief, tilling is not always the best method of preparing your garden bed, and it certainly is not the best way to attract or keep the earthworms you already have. Instead, lightly loosen the top layer of soil for planting, but allow the deeper layers of earth to remain untouched. This will reduce the number of earthworms that might be killed by your shovel and reduce the number of worms that become displaced by the tossing of the soil.

Add Compost
Earthworms can live on compost, and compost can directly benefit your garden, so you can attract a huge number of worms by adding compost. Spread it and they will come, but remember that you do not need to till this in either, the worms will spread out and eat the compost as they work their way deeper into the soil and leave their nutrients near the plant roots. This last measure, with additional watering twice a week to keep everything moist, is the best way to attract as many worms to your garden as it can handle or needs.